


A Late Night Drink Offers No Insults Only Praise

by WinglessCrows



Series: Through the Eyes of a Cook [34]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Friendship, Rivalry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-07
Updated: 2018-07-07
Packaged: 2019-05-27 07:53:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15020075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinglessCrows/pseuds/WinglessCrows
Summary: Helping enemies may not prove wise, but it shows kindness





	A Late Night Drink Offers No Insults Only Praise

It was the middle of the day, when Usopp yelled from the crow's nest that a ship was approaching. All the strawhats immediately stopped whatever they were doing and readied themselves for a fight. When the ship slowly got closer they realized that that wasn't really necessary. It looked like something had already fucked them up good and though these pirates were still alive, it was only just barely. Some of them looked like they were on the brink of death due to injuries, while others looked severely underfed. One look at them and both Sanji and Chopper turned to get their Captain's permission to act on their morals.

"Let me feed them!" "Let me treat them!" They both requested at the same time and with no hesitation Luffy gave them the green light. While Chopper hurried to the ship, closely followed by Usopp and Zoro, Sanji hurried to the kitchen, as the remaining crew members secured the Sunny to the other ship. Sanji started off by making an emergency stew that would save the ones worst off and not half an hour later he and Brook were feeding the starving pirates.

Sometimes, and this was one of those times, the strawhat crew would forget that they were in fact evil pirates who didn't give a crap about others, and they would help strangers along their journey. The ship which they had first pinned down as an enemy approaching had somehow been turned into a rescue camp. The deck was used as a mess hall where Sanji had set up a mini kitchen that would save him from going back and forth between the two ships. The inside of the ship had turned into an emergency sick bay, where Chopper and his helpful nurses Nami and Usopp had more than enough on their hands. Franky was repairing the worn out ship as Luffy had gotten the full story of how they had been attacked by an enemy pirate crew, when they had been too weak to fight as they had run out of food. Brook was helping out where ever he was needed, which was usually in the mini kitchen as there were so many people who needed feeding, while Zoro was sat on the railing overseeing everything. At first Sanji had been annoyed with the fact that the stupid moss head wasn't doing anything to help out, but it soon occurred to him that he was probably doing the most important job. Protecting the crew from a potential enemy. However, Sanji thought as he eyed the swordsman, he didn't need to look so gloomy.

Sanji was ripped out of his thoughts when Robin appeared beside him with some medicinal herbs, which Chopper wanted him to incorporate into the food. When he had taken them she went inside, probably to see if she could help the doctor out. The loud conversations, the utensils constant clanging against plates and the occasional yells when someone needed help would have made an ordinary person go mad, but Sanji found it oddly comforting. What had been a dead ship when they had found it had suddenly come back to life, and Sanji loved it. He enjoyed it so much that he actually wanted to tell Zoro to stop sulking on the railing and just come join the fun, and had it been anyone but the marimo he probably would have done it. By the end of the day, he was thankful that it was Zoro who was sat there watching over them.

When Chopper had declared that everyone would be just fine and had let the crew's actual doctor take over, he and his three assistants emerged from the quickly made sick bay and joined everyone for food. When they were all full and Sanji had given them enough supplies to last for at least another week, they got ready to leave and with everything that had been going on, an attack was definitely the last thing they expected from the people they had just saved.

Sanji had just turned his back on the foreign crew to return to the ship, when Zoro suddenly leapt forward. It caught Sanji by complete surprise as Zoro was quickly moving towards him for a reason Sanji had yet to realize and he was forcefully knocked off his feet by the swordsman. Sanji was just about to complain when he saw Zoro preventing a sword from going right through him. He quickly got up and stared dumbfounded at the crew whom they had been dining with only moments ago.

"Why..." Sanji whispered so quietly that only Zoro could hear and he got a powerful  _tsk_ as a response. But there was no time to dwell on the situation and Sanji quickly made sure that the pirates had taken no hostages before following Zoro into battle.

As he and Zoro fought, alone for some reason, as Luffy was doing who-knew-what and the others had safely boarded the ship, they faintly heard Chopper's request of not hurting anyone too much, and while Sanji never got to answer over the loud fight, Zoro just followed along. It wasn't much of a problem taking out the pirates, but every time Sanji's foot connected with one of his enemies he felt bad, because he had just been laughing and eating with this person.

When he and Zoro had finished up, Zoro spoke without looking at him: "We should take back our food." The words were spoken softly. There was no pity nor any resentment to be heard in his voice yet even after what the pirates had done, Sanji couldn't even bring himself to consider following Zoro's order.

"No," Sanji simply said and looked at Zoro. He wasn't starting a fight, because there was nothing to fight over. They wouldn't take the food. It was as simple as that.

Zoro looked to him, his confusion soon overtaken by frustration, "You'd give our food to the people who tried to kill us? It's not like we have an indefinite food supply. You of all people should know that."

"We can't take it! They'll starve!" Sanji yelled not having intended to raise his voice. Really. He did not want to fight him over this.

"They attacked us, you stupid curly brow. You'd give food to an enemy?" For some reason Zoro wasn't yelling and Sanji didn't like that he seemed the more unreasonable of the two since he acted on morals.

"I'd give food to anyone who needs it." Sanji stated like he had so many times, but apparently Zoro wasn't really buying it.

"Even if it meant us starving?" Zoro countered, still calm, and Sanji looked at him for a few seconds, before turning to look at the defeated pirates around them.

"They need it more than us. Look at how many of them there are. We are only nine, and we still have food for a week." Sanji looked back at Zoro, thinking that he had won the argument, but the swordsman was glaring at him, and Sanji couldn't understand why the hell he wouldn't back down.

"And what will you do when the next band of starving pirates cross our path?" Zoro wasn't backing down. Sanji was scared. If no one stepped in, Zoro would win. After all, he had the stupid power of being vice-captain. Where the hell was Luffy when you needed him?

"I'd give them what I could," Sanji said, he couldn't give up.

"Is that how much this crew means to you? You, our cook, would give our food to the enemy when we barely have enough. Did you not learn anything from last time?"

That stung. It hadn't been long since they'd been so low on food that Sanji and most of the other crew members had gone with almost no food for days, but Zoro was wrong.

"This crew means everything to me." Sanji said now just as calm as Zoro, "but I have my principles, and I will not be breaking them. Not today. You might find it stupid, but it's important to me."

It looked like Zoro was about to retort, but then, as sent from heaven: "Zoro." Luffy said softly and they both turned to find their captain standing close to them, "We'll let them keep the food. We've been sailing for a while, so we'll probably be on an island soon... or at least that's what Nami said, either way, we can spare the food." He smiled at them, and Zoro sighed. He couldn't act against his captain even if he wanted to. Sanji silently thanked Luffy and they went back to the ship.

It was late night, and Sanji could feel himself getting sleepy. He was making his way down from the crow's next where he had delivered Robin her coffee. He would make a cup of tea, while planning tomorrow's breakfast and then go to bed, but when he came to the kitchen he found that it wasn't as empty as he had left it. There was a cup of green tea and beside it was Sanji's notebook, which he used to plan out meals, and across the spot that had been laid out for him was Zoro with a bottle of saké. Sanji wasn't entirely sure what to think of this.

"Sit." Zoro said without looking and Sanji slowly did as told, not really knowing what to expect.

"Did you make this?" Sanji asked sceptically and gestured to the tea.

"Are you impressed?" Zoro teased and Sanji felt like he had been challenged to something. He took a sip. It was good.

"Not bad," Sanji said and Zoro smirked before taking a sip of his drink. When Zoro said nothing for a long time, Sanji decided that he might as well use the time, and started planning breakfast.

"Why do you write down what you're going to make?" Zoro asked, and Sanji almost felt like he wasn't talking to him, but he answered anyway.

"Because I need to make full use of what we have left. Different people need different things as well."

"Couldn't you just think about that when you cook?"

"It's more complicated than that... not that a moss brain would understand." Sanji was slightly worried when Zoro didn't retort.

"I don't think it's stupid," he then said after a few minutes of silence and Sanji's tired brain wasn't quite understanding what he was getting at.

"What are you talking about?"

"Your principles. I don't think they're stupid." Sanji said nothing, "What? Lost for words," Zoro then teased.

"I'm just trying to find the insult," Sanji answered slowly and regretted saying it out loud.

"It's not supposed to be an insult," Zoro said and looked at him like he was an idiot, which, in all honesty, was quite fair.

More silence followed as Sanji wasn't quite following the situation. He would later blame this on sleepiness. Sanji enjoyed the rest of the tea and finished planning his morning. Zoro still hadn't left.

"Do you want anything...?" Sanji slowly asked. Under any other circumstance he would have kicked him out of the kitchen, but after being... complimented by Zoro he couldn't really find it in him. Another thing he would later blame on being tired.

"Can't I just sit here and enjoy my drink?" Zoro said a little absent minded and Sanji wondered what he was thinking about.

"I suppose..." Sanji wondered and shot a last glance at Zoro before going to bed.

Just before Sanji fell asleep he wondered why he and Zoro couldn't have more moments like that, but come morning and they were arguing about table manners and other things which Sanji couldn't remember. However, as Sanji finally served Zoro his breakfast he caught him smiling.


End file.
